Joseph Epstein ” has a very funny, and highly critical, review of Alice Flaherty ‘s The Midnight Disease , a book that seeks in neuroscience answers to questions about why writers write and what is happening when they cannot (a book, by the way, that was breathlessly reviewed recently on NPR). Epstein’s specific criticisms of the book are pointed, but he is at his best when he is writing, with characteristic candor, about the reasons for writing: “I was recently... Read more
David Warren examines Edward Said ‘s Orientalism and the more recent Occidentalism by Ian Buruma “and Avishai Margalit in the April issue of Commentary . His critique of Said is devastating and he also finds the Buruma/Margalit volume unsatisfying, but the most interesting bit in the piece comes near the end, when he cites a recent book by Lee Harris , Civilization and Its Enemies . Harris’s book examines, in part, the thought of “the 14th-century Muslim historian ibn Khaldun,... Read more
Agnes Howard reports in The Weekly Standard on new developments in prenatal screening. Last winter, it was reported that scientists had put together a “combination of maternal blood tests and ultrasounds to detect Down syndrome at 10-13 weeks,” and a more recent report in Lancet argued for increasing access to such tests. The authors, led by Ryan A. Harris, don’t want prenatal screening to be limited to high-risk mothers: “They content that women are much more worried about having a... Read more
Mark Stricherz writes in the April 5 Weekly Standard that the Republicans have everything to gain by making gay marriage an election-year issue: “opposition to gay marriage is a far less narrow phenomenon than supposed. The Republican position is, in fact, at least a 60-40 issue, one that unites their base AND attracts swing voters.” Peter Beinart’s TRB editorial in The New Republic cites a poll that found that “75 percent of blacks oppose same-sex marriage, compared with 59 percent... Read more
Promise of Spring Between the snowy banks, The living water flows. A pledge of rhododendrun A promise of the rose. Read more
It is clear that the Lord?s Supper has some kind of relationship to the death of Jesus. Jesus said at the Last Supper that the bread was His body, given for you, and the wine was His blood, poured out as the blood of the new covenant. When Paul talks about the Lord?s Supper, he says that it ?proclaims the Lord?s death until He come.?E But HOW is the Supper related to the death of Jesus? Trying to answer that... Read more
This is repetitive, but here goes: Luke?s account of Jesus?Ecrucifixion ends on a note of triumph. After Jesus breathes His last breath, the Roman centurion confesses that Jesus was ?righteous?Eand begins to praise God. The crowds of people who had come out for the spectacle go home beating their breasts in repentance. And suddenly a man emerges from the faceless mass of the Jewish Sanhedrin, is given a name, Joseph, and is ensuring that Jesus?Ebody is honorably buried. Jesus is... Read more
There is another chiastic pattern running in Luke’s account of the crucifixion. If we focus attention on the people mocking Jesus, we have this pattern: Jewish rulers (v 35) Roman soldiers (vv 36-37) Criminal (v 39) But when the second criminal addresses Jesus, things begin to reverse and unravel. Someone in each of the three categories that hurled mockery at Jesus now confesses Jesus in some fashion: Criminal (vv 40-43) Centurion (v 47) Jewish ruler ?EJoseph of Arimethea (vv 50-53).... Read more
Luke’s account of the crucifixion is organized in a neatly chiastic form: A. Simon of Cyrene carries Jesus’ cross, 23:26 B. Women follow Jesus, beating their breasts, 23:27-31 C. Criminals crucified with Jesus, 23:32-33 D. Jesus forgives mockery and abuse, 23:34-38 C’. One criminal mocks Jesus, the other believes, 23:39-43 B’. Events of Jesus’ death lead crowd to beat their breasts; women stand at a distance, 23:44-49 A’. Joseph of Arimethea puts Jesus in his own tomb, 23:50-56 Several things... Read more
Luke’s account of the crucifixion is organized in a neatly chiastic form: A. Simon of Cyrene carries Jesus’ cross, 23:26 B. Women follow Jesus, beating their breasts, 23:27-31 C. Criminals crucified with Jesus, 23:32-33 D. Jesus forgives mockery and abuse, 23:34-38 C’. One criminal mocks Jesus, the other believes, 23:39-43 B’. Events of Jesus’ death lead crowd to beat their breasts; women stand at a distance, 23:44-49 A’. Joseph of Arimethea puts Jesus in his own tomb, 23:50-56 Several things... Read more
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